1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of data processing systems. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for synchronizing information between a portable computer system and a computer system having shared scheduling information stored thereon.
2. Related Art
As the components required to build a computer system have reduced in size, new categories of computer systems have emerged. One of the new categories of computer systems is the xe2x80x9cpalmtopxe2x80x9d computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can be xe2x80x9cpalm-sized.xe2x80x9d Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement various Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer and electronic notepads, to name a few.
Since palmtop computer systems are very small, full-sized keyboards are generally not efficient input devices. Palmtop computers using keyboards have keyboard devices that are so small that a user cannot touch-type. Furthermore, to use a keyboard device, a user must either place the palmtop computer system down onto a flat surface, so the user can type with both hands, or the user holds the palmtop computer system with two hands and types with thumbs only.
Instead of a keyboard device, some palmtop computers utilize a touch screen and display an image of a small keyboard thereon. When a particular button is pressed or tapped, a small keyboard image is displayed on the display screen. The user then interacts with the on-screen small keyboard image to enter characters, usually one character at a time. To interact with the displayed keyboard image (e.g., xe2x80x9cvirtual keyboardxe2x80x9d), the user taps the screen location of a character with a pen. That corresponding character is then recognized and added to a data entry field, also displayed on the screen. However, for experienced users, the virtual keyboard input system can be a tedious input process.
Instead of using a keyboard device or a displayed keyboard, many palmtop computers employ a pen and a digitizer pad as an input system. The pen and digitizer pad combination works well for palmtop computers because the arrangement allows a user to hold the palmtop computer system in one hand while writing with the pen onto the digitizer pad with the other hand. Most of these pen-based palmtop computer systems provide some type of handwriting recognition system whereby the user can write words and letters on the digitizer pad with a stylus.
In addition to using keyboards, virtual keyboards and the digitizer, it has also proven convenient to exchange data between a computer system and a palmtop computer using a communication interface, such as a serial or parallel input port. A number of programs today transfer data between palmtops and personal computer systems (PCs), but they are currently limited in functionality. For instance, some programs transfer all the information from the palmtop to the PC without regard for the prior content on the PC. These programs assume that changes to that particular data are only made on the palmtop, and that the changes made on the palmtop take precedence over any changes made on the PC. As a result, any independent updates made directly on the PC will be lost.
Other methods track changes, e.g., using xe2x80x9cflags,xe2x80x9d to facilitate synchronization. These methods create update xe2x80x9cflagsxe2x80x9d in each record that has changed, both on the palmtop and the PC. Corresponding files on the palmtop and the PC are then compared, and if one or more flags are set in a file, the file is recognized as having changed. If both the palmtop and PC files have changed, the flags are used to determine which records need to be updated in the other file. The databases of most existing programs, however, do not contain such flags since the databases of most existing programs were not designed to be synchronized. Also, there is no provision in these methods for sharing the scheduling information of or for multiple users with a palmtop computer.
Some programs attempt to synchronize the data on the PC with the palmtop by comparing the information in each application and prompting the user for answers to determine which data to overwrite. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,390 describes a method for reconciling information between two calendar database files by interrogating the user about which file to update when a difficult case arises. Although these types of programs provide an advantage over programs that assume only one database has changed since they do not indiscriminately overwrite data, they are cumbersome and time consuming. Using these methods, users may have to spend an inordinate amount of time answering questions whenever they attempt to synchronize information between their palmtops and their PCs. Furthermore, none of these systems provide for the management of shared calendar information (of multiple users) with a palmtop computer system.
Other systems, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,727,202, 5,832,489 and 5,884,323 allow data synchronization between a portable computer system and a desktop computer system for the exchange and updating of data. However, like the above described systems, there is no provision for management of a shared data file of calendar information from or for multiple users.
Accordingly, what is needed is an effective mechanism and method allowing a palmtop computer system to access a shared server system that contains calendar data from multiple users. What is also needed is a system and method for efficiently allowing palmtop computer system to visualize, edit and otherwise manage shared calendar data from multiple users. What is also needed is a system allowing calendar information for a particular event to be stored in a shared server and be used across multiple users. The present invention provides these advantages and others not specifically mentioned above but described in the sections to follow.
A method and system are described for synchronizing and using calendar information from a shared database. Database information can be stored using different category names. Calendar information can be stored in a shared database, e.g., on a server system and accessed and synchronized with one or more portable computer systems. The calendar information is stored using particular category types which facilitate separate manipulation, access and removal of the calendar information when placed onto a portable computer system (e.g., palmtop). In one embodiment, e.g., the xe2x80x9ctrade show embodiment,xe2x80x9d calendar information stored on a shared database is assigned a unique category type. Multiple portable computer systems can then go to a central location or station and access the shared calendar information. This shared calendar/schedule information can be displayed on each computer system along with the system""s own individual calendar information. The unique category type is different from the default type of each system""s own calendar information and while the schedule information can be altered by the user, the user is not able to change category types or their designations on the portable computer system. Shared calendar information can be viewed and edited. When the shared calendar information is no longer needed or useful, the user can return to the central location and have it removed using its unique category type as a filter.
In a second embodiment, e.g., the xe2x80x9cfamily schedule embodiment,xe2x80x9d different calendar information from different users can be stored in a database of a shared server, each schedule using a respective category type that is assigned to the user. For instance, a xe2x80x9cwifexe2x80x9d category can be used and a xe2x80x9cchild1xe2x80x9d category and a xe2x80x9cchild2xe2x80x9d category, etc. When the multiple calendar information is loaded into a single portable computer system, a flag can be set to display or hide calendar information of certain categories. For instance, all categories can be shown or just the xe2x80x9cwifexe2x80x9d calendar data can be shown along with the default category of the user""s palmtop computer system. The schedules of multiple people can then be viewed in a single location. Calendar information for any displayed categories can be edited. It is appreciated that all embodiments offer the ability to edit and/or remove the data in other categories.
More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention includes a method of processing information comprising the steps of: a) storing, in a server, first calendar information under a predetermined category name, the first calendar information comprising event name, time and date information; b) transferring the first calendar information from the server to a palmtop computer system, the palmtop computer system having second calendar information stored under a default category name which is different from the predetermined category name, the second calendar information comprising event name, time and date information; c) displaying together portions of the first and the second calendar information on a display screen of the palmtop computer system wherein the predetermined category name and the default category name are both unmodifiable by the palmtop computer system; and d) using the predetermined category name to remove the first calendar information from the palmtop computer system without disturbing the second calendar information.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a method of processing information comprising the steps of: a) storing, in a server, first and second calendar information stored, respectively, under first and second category names, the first and second calendar information comprising event name, time and date information; b) synchronizing the first calendar information with calendar information of the first category name stored on a first palmtop computer system wherein modifications in the server are reflected in the first palmtop computer system and vice-versa; c) transferring the second calendar information from the server to the first palmtop computer system; d) designating a first flag indicating whether nor not the second calendar information is to be displayed on the first palmtop computer system; e) displaying the first calendar information on a display screen of the first palmtop computer system; and f) displaying the second calendar information, together with the first calendar information, on the display screen provided the first flag indicates that the second calendar information is to be displayed and otherwise not displaying the second calendar information.